donkt88

I have an 05 auto corvette that occasionally will not shift out of park without restarting the engine.
Anybody have a clue what might be wrong?

EVRose

Do a search for "stuck in park" and you'll find lots of info about it.

xtroms

Same problem on my 05. 4 times now and managed to wiggle and beat on it and got it to release. This past Friday did it again so got out and went to call the tow truck but decided to give it another try and it worked. Called the chev dealer and he knew exactly what the problem is (happened to his vette) has the parts on hand and have an appointment on Monday. Didn't say what the part needed is but will let you know when it's done.

RagTop69

I believe it's a cable linkage from your shifter to your tranny that is worn out on the ends. My '09 does the same thing occasionally. I find that pushing forward on the shifter in "PARK" and then moving back usually solves the problem. Speaking of solving problems, where is Chevrolet on correcting this well known flaw in their design. I guess all their engineers are busy working on the cheesy plastic fuel tank and pump assembly "redesign".

4SUMERZ

It happens to almost all c6 auto's because the transmission lock out solenoid is too slow to react, and does not disengage the locking pawl.
It happened occasionally to my 2006, and I just tied back the locking pawl, basically bypassing the solenoid, so no more worries.
Sometimes, the shifter can come out of Park, but unable to get past drive, or back into park easily.
The other issue could be the shifter cable end(s) bushing breaking. This usually causes the shifter to move but not engage the transmission.

For the Solenoid issue, some owners just run a wire from the pawl to their console, and disengage the locking pawl whenever the solenoid does not disengaging it.

Here is a PDF of the DIY. This also works for the A4 shifter as well.

donkt88

Thanks guys. I had no idea this was a design flaw. I'm going to make an appointment at my chevy dealer to have it repaired.

EVRose

The dealer will replace the entire shifter - $450-$500.

4SUMERZ

and the new shifter is not immune to the "stuck in Park" phenomenon.

xtroms

Got back from the dealer this afternoon. After their test drive and mine and numerous shifts from park to drive all appears normal. What they told me was that "the computers were throwing codes and not communicating with the solenoid and there was service bulletins that had not been done and they did them so it's good to go." I have new Michelins ordered (they price matched the cheapest) so will drive it a week while waiting for them to see what, if anything, happens.

EVRose

If whatever they did fixed it for good I will be shocked.

4SUMERZ

I'm giving that GM dealer service department an A+ for trying something other than just replacing the shifter.
If it ever does it again, I bet they will just replace the shifter with another, or you can do a DIY and never have to worry about it again.